He still hears voices in his head, but medication changes have helped the mentally ill man accused of killing two teenagers behind a Roswell grocery store, doctors testified Wednesday.
Now, a Fulton County judge must determine if Jeffrey Hazelwood is competent to stand trial. Hazelwood, 20, has been in custody since August, when he was arrested and charged with murder in the deaths of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both 17.
In February, he was moved from the Fulton County jail to Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, where he continues to receive treatment.
“He was prescribed medication in the Fulton County jail, medication that appeared not to be working for him,” Christian Hildreth, the psychologist currently treating Hazelwood, testified Wednesday.
When Hazelwood was brought to the hospital, he had difficulty completing sentences, was incoherent and reported hearing voices, Hildreth said during the hearing. Hazelwood was prescribed a new course of medications, which have helped him, though his mental illness cannot be cured, Hildreth said.
“Mr. Hazelwood has some confusion,” the psychologist said. “He did report, even during the evaluation, that he was hearing voices, some were friends. Sometimes he was hearing demons.”
Hildreth testified that if Hazelwood is on his medication, he will be competent to stand trial.
Hazelwood was first treated for mental health disorders at age 3. In 2001, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD, and as he got older, Hazelwood had more difficulty with anger management, according to Hildreth. He was hospitalized multiple times in 2012 and again in 2015.
For three years prior to the August killings, Hazelwood was being treated by Dr. Selig Cynman, an Alpharetta psychiatrist, Cynman testified. During that period, Hazelwood had 82 sessions with him, said Cynman, who prescribed medication to treat his mental illness. Cynman said Wednesday that Hazelwood reported hallucinations and paranoia, including the belief that cameras were watching him inside the home where he lived with his grandparents.
Cynman had last seen Hazelwood on July 22 and the two spoke by phone July 29, Cynman said. But Hazelwood was not believed to have been taking his medication on the morning of Aug. 1, when he allegedly killed the teenagers.
Around 3 a.m. Aug.1, Hazelwood told police he watched the teenagers for about 20 minutes before he opened the back door of Henderson’s SUV with one hand while holding a gun with the other. Hazelwood first shot and killed Davis, he said, before he told police he sexually assaulted Henderson, then shot and killed her. After the shootings, Hazelwood left the scene and then returned to steal Henderson’s bank card, which he later used, and jumper cables belonging to Davis, according to police.
It was his long, unruly hair and his silver SUV that helped lead investigators to Hazelwood. But in court Wednesday, Hazelwood’s hair was short and he wore a gray suit instead of a jail uniform. At times, he rocked quietly in his seat and his right leg shook seemingly uncontrollably.
A grand jury indicted Hazelwood on 15 counts, including murder, aggravated assault and sexual battery, in October. The following month, he entered a not guilty plea.
At hearings in December and January, Hazelwood told Judge Shawn LaGrua he was not receiving his medication while in jail, the AJC previously reported.
A trial date has not yet been set.
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